A GOOD REACTION TO AN FDA WARNING

Further on the issue of the previous blog - the U.S. government warning to 4 companies manufacturing antiseptic products because of unproven claims about their power to protect against bacteria, including MRSA.

I looked up all of them to see how they were reacting to the government's warning. It was all over the place - ranging from cancelling the product's website, to facing the issue honestly.

I like the honest approach. In fact, one of my pet peeves is that when food or other dangerous products are recalled, usually the company makes no effort to inform consumers: no posts on their website, no recorded messages on their company line, no special advice to people who have bought their products. So I was particularly pleased with Tec Laboratories' reaction - and this wasn't even a recall (yet) - just a warning letter.

Mind you, the claims for their product - StaphAseptic® First Aid Antiseptic - were very exaggerated. This is straight from their website ad yesterday. No surprise - today it is blank: " Applied to minor cuts, scrapes and abrasions, StaphAseptic® can help prevent skin infections caused by bacteria such as MRSA, staph, and other germs...". On Amazon the claims for the product are (still) much less nuanced: "Prevents Skin Infections Caused by Antibiotic Resistant Staph (MRSA) and other Germs." Bad, bad, Amazon.

Tec Laboratories is making no attempt to hide their problems. On their home page, there is a letter from the company's president, mentioning the issue with the FDA, and that they are trying to resolve it. In searching their website further, I also found general instructions on how to prevent MRSA skin infections, which goes beyond their product use to provide good general public health information (They have today changed the title to read "6 Step Skin Infection Prevention Program" with no specific mention of MRSA.)

Overall - top marks to Tec Laboratories for a good reaction to bad news (and false advertising). This straightforward approach is not only good from a public health perspective, but from a marketing one.

TSF

NO MAGIC PROTECTION AGAINST MRSA BACTERIA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has got tough on those over-the-counter hand sanitizer wipes and antiseptic gels, foaming soaps and lotions. And about time. Last week four U.S. companies were sent letters warning them not to make unproven claims. If they didn't stop exaggerating the magic power of their products in 15 days, they could be sued or have their products seized.

Many such products promise to wipe out 99% or even 99.9% of any germs sitting on your hands. In cases they even name bacteria we all know like Salmonella and E.coli, or, the flu virus. Some even claim to kill MRSA - Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus, which is very, very resistant to just about all antibiotics, including all Penicillins, not just Methicillin (Methicillin used to be the drug of choice for treating S. aureus bacteria, but is longer used).

MRSA is the bacteria that we are all afraid of. It is a very infectious, very aggressive germ. From a small wound it can get into your bloodstream and even affect your heart. Close to 20,000 people are reported to die of MRSA each year in the U.S.

True, MRSA can be passed along on the skin of one person to another, on the tie or the lab coat of the doctor attending you in the hospital, and in many other ways. Food service workers with infected cuts on their hands have been known to pass such bacteria into food. I even read a study a couple of years ago (done in the UK) where vets were getting MRSA from pets they were treating.

Of course, we would all like to have a product that made us safer from this germ. But, as the FDA points out, the claims made by the manufacturers of many products on the market today are exaggerated. Quoting Deborah Autor, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research: “MRSA is a serious public health threat. The FDA cannot allow companies to mislead consumers by making unproven prevention claims.”

Good. Personally, I don't want that cook or waiter in the kitchen at my favorite restaurant using one of these gels or lotions before he or she handles my food. I prefer thorough hand washing under running water, and wearing disposable gloves - particularly if that food-service worker has a cut on their hands. That is likely to work better.

By the way, here are the products that the FDA is clamping down on, but believe me, they are not the only ones out there:

• Tec Laboratories for Staphaseptic First Aid Antiseptic/Pain Relieving Gel;
• JD Nelson and Associates for Safe4Hours Hand Sanitizing Lotion and Safe4Hours First Aid Antiseptic Skin Protectant;
• Dr. G.H. Tichenor Antiseptic Co. for Dr. Tichenor’s Antiseptic Gel;
• Oh So Clean, Inc dba CleanWell Company for CleanWell All-Natural Foaming Hand Sanitizer, CleanWell All-Natural Hand Sanitizer, CleanWell All-Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes, and CleanWell All-Natural Antibacterial Foaming Handsoap


TSF

MRSA BACTERIA IN U.S. MEAT?

Recently published findings about drug resistant bacteria in U.S. meat is raising hairs - and blood pressure - among consumers. Disease-causing bacteria in our food are bad enough, but when they are also resistant to antibiotics, then its really scary. How can we be treated if we catch them?

A study published in the reputable journal of Clinical Infectious Diseases on April 15 is the cause of the furror. Testing on beef, chicken, pork and turkey for sale in U.S. stores in cities of Chicago, Los Angeles. Washington, D.C., Fort Lauderdale in Florida, and Flagstaff in Arizona, found that about 47 percent of the meat was contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus . And, it found that over half of these bacteria were resistant to at least 3 kinds of antibiotics. Some were resistant to more. Reportedly, at least one meat sample contained MRSA.

It seems that genetic testing argues that the bacteria came from the animals themselves - not from handling or packaging or some other source. If you have read The Safe Food Handbook, you won't be surprised. You also won't be surprised that the bacteria are antibiotic resistant, since the book explains why such bacteria are on the increase in meat and farmed seafood.

Industrialized food production is to blame. The popular practice in the United States is to give food animals small doses of antibiotics on a regular basis to keep them from getting sick, and fatten them up faster. No, it is not to treat illness - this is strictly preventive. And, it is profitable for the meat and the pharmaceutical industries.

The United States is behind the European and many other industrialized countries in banning this dangerous over-use and misappropriate use of drugs. Yes, it may help to keep our meat and poultry cheap - which is the argument of the industry. But is it worth creating a huge risk for public health?

TSF